“My dream is to get to the Olympics, represent black people and try to put diving out there so more people from different backgrounds feel this is a sport for them.”
Desharne Bent-Ashmeil’s ambition is arguably even more striking than her appearance on poolside and the podium. For should that dream be realised, British Swimming and Team GB records suggest she would be the first black diver to represent Great Britain at an Olympic Games.
It is an unwanted statistic the teenager – and new European Games champion – aims to change by making history at Paris 2024.
“I used to feel like the odd one out as there weren’t any other black divers,” she tells BBC Sport.
“Now I feel it’s OK to be different, because you should feel unique and special, but I also want more people to feel like this is a sport for them.”
‘I wanted to dive, but I didn’t know how to swim!’
Raised in Crystal Palace, south London, Bent-Ashmeil…
